Pence: It’s ‘Possible’ Trump Uses Executive Power To Build The Wall

Vice President-elect Mike Pence said Wednesday that it is possible President-elect Donald Trump will use executive action in his first days in office to secure the border with Mexico.

The comment from Pence comes days after Trump said that on Monday, which he considers his first day in office, he would sign an executive order covering “strong borders.”

Pence told MSNBC’s Chuck Todd in an interview that the Trump administration is looking to sign executive orders and repeal those enacted by President Barack Obama in order to implement the new president’s agenda.

Todd asked Pence about Trump’s comment that he would sign an order regarding “secure borders.” The vice president-elect said that Congress and him have been “looking at existing legislation and existing funds” to put Trump’s promise to quickly build a border wall “into practice.”

Pence added that it is “possible” that the Trump administration starts on building a wall before Congress passes a law, but that they are “flushing that out right now.”

The Secure Fences Act of 2006 authorized the Department of Homeland Security to build nearly 700 miles of double-layered fencing on the Mexican border. Currently 36 miles of that fencing has been built.

Politifact reported that the Secure Fence Act and other existing laws give the secretary of homeland security broad powers when it comes to securing the border, so that construction wouldn’t be limited to a double-layered fence.